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Oxfam GB reaction to Daily Express article about UK floods

Oxfam recognises that poverty and hardship are real issues in many parts of the UK - that's why we work where our expertise can make a real difference. Our work around food banks and UK Government policies around poverty and inequality are well known and well respected, for instance.

We work only where we can have the greatest impact, and usually when the affected country has little or no ability to respond without our help. For instance, without our intervention in the Philippines three months ago, it is likely that thousands more people may have died, and we have reached 550,000 since November.

In terms of emergency response, the UK has a very strong infrastructure and the resources to cope with the damage and harm caused by the current flooding. Oxfam's help is not required as the UK Government has already said that they have the resource and ability to respond to this situation. To give another example, Oxfam did not respond to the Japan tsunami disaster - again, because the country had the capacity and resource to respond, and because Oxfam did not have existing emergency response capacity in the country.

We fully appreciate the scale of destruction being caused by flooding in the UK at the moment and have every sympathy for those who are suffering as a result, but our help is simply not needed at this point in time, and to make sure that our supporters know their money is being used most effectively and appropriately, we must keep our focus on situations such as Syria, the Philippines and South Sudan, to name just three.